I’m fascinated! What was your work back then?
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I am a forester. Back then when I was in the woods every day, safety protocols were very lax at my organization. We also didn’t have cell phones or gps systems. So sending us to the woods alone wasn’t a great idea.
I worked in the SW most of my career and the summer monsoons caused those sneaky afternoon thunderstorms.
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I hitchhiked with my friend from Philly to St. Louis to see another friend of mine. She wasn’t there but we spent the night in her room and I have no memory of how we got back. This was about 1969.
I rode the bobsled at Lake Placid. Felt pretty daredevil but the kid who actually steered the thing was pretty bored.
I had a baby at age 43.
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Wow! Kudos to you! I would not have lasted five minutes, alone in the woods!
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I am not a daredevil.
D2 says the most dare devilish thing I’ve done is ride Disney’s Tower of Terror when S1 was 9. I got off and said never again in my life.
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I can totally relate–I did the Tower of Terror thing with my daughter (she was 11). I thought I was going to die and hated every minute of it. My D loved it.
I enjoyed Tower of Terror and did it multiple times in one day because for reasons unknown there was no line. Disney rides have never scared me—I figure they can’t afford for me to get hurt.
Other rickety rides give me much more pause—don’t trust those as much.
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I’ve done lots of the activities listed above. Zip lines, waterfall rappelling , multi day whitewater rafting, hot air ballooning, etc
But if you are asking about stupid risk taking it would be my one and only drug experience, eating two or three marijuana infused brownies in a remote Canadian campground during a field class n college. I knew my classmate put weed in them … I had no way of judging how much. I just liked chocolate. Fell fast asleep and missed the ruckus of the bear tearing apart the campsite. Truly lucky, because I had food in my tent. Fortunately the sober folks chased him off.
Take all the risks you want when sober, never be impaired in the wilderness!
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Gators did get in the pond at the house in Fla. where I spent my youth. Usually after heavy rains. My parents would call the game commission dude to come wrestle it, we didn’t have to 
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@abasket I hid out in a tent in some friends’ back yard (they told their parents they were “camping” and the parents, not knowing anything about me being there, let them). They got in a lot of trouble when I was finally captured. By an officer. In an actual foot chase through gardens and such. Ah, suburban drama. I was a baaaad kid but I didn’t know how good I had it.
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I don’t consider any permanently installed rides at amusement parks to be daredevil activities. No real risk involved. Mobile carnivals are a different matter.
Tower of Terror is my favorite ride at the Disney parks but their rides are weak in terms of thrills. Family rides that everyone can ride and true thrill rides are very different. Disney coasters aren’t very high or fast. There are other higher/faster drop towers. Disney is aimed at people other than biggest thrill seekers.
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Agreed. I say disney is a theme park. It’s not an amusement park like Universal island of adventure or cedar point, six flags, etc. You go to Disney for the experience, not for thrills.
A cute Tower of Terror true tale:
My family including my mom were in Disney when youngest was 3. Mom doesn’t care for many thrill rides, but sometimes does Disney’s. She offered to stay with youngest while the rest of us did Tower of Terror, but youngest insisted he wanted to go on it even after we explained it to him. There appeared to be no height limit.
So we went on it together as a family.
Afterward mom and son agreed they didn’t like it and they would sit out Rockin’ Roller Coaster next door. (3 year old wasn’t tall enough for that anyway.)
While the rest of us were on Rockin Roller Coaster 3 year old told Grandma:
“I’m never, never, never, never, NEVER, going on that ride again! And when I’m older I’m not going to make my wife and kids go on it either!”
Grandma reminded him that we didn’t make him go on it - she offered to wait with him doing other things. “Hmph,” he said.
Fast forward a decade or so (less memorable for age on this one) and we were back at Disney. Guess who insisted on Tower of Terror? It became perhaps his favorite ride. Grandma also went on it again - quite willingly. 
On a different note, middle son also didn’t care for the ride, but for a completely different reason. The “ghosts” scared him. He loved the thrill ride part. When he got older he said he closed his eyes for the ghosts to avoid seeing them. He also never cared for the Haunted Mansion - couldn’t stand the ghosts. Anyone else in that camp either yourself or with your kids?
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As we talk about amusement part rides being safe, this happens:
Nothing in life is 100% safe, even staying home. Things happen. Seize the day.
Personally, we’ll still enjoy such rides when we go to these types of parks just like we still drive in cars and go on airplanes, but I definitely feel for the family/friends involved.
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Back in high school when Disney River Country was open I was on a raft that overturned (wasn’t “raging waters” either–more than lazy river but less than fast ) My neck was really strained (didn’t realize how badly until hours later) and I took days to recover. I was stuck underneath the raft and since it was very shallow it just bent my neck and head trapped between raft and the bottom. And very hard to get up until someone pulled the raft off me. Not a fan since.
Drive to and from the park is the most dangerous part of the day. Not saying there is no risk with either though. Ultimately each is at a level of risk that vast majority of people don’t (or at least shouldn’t) view as altering behavior.
I’m sending my son’s to public universities instead of LACs or Ivies.
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I’m not sure these would qualify as “daredevil” activities, but they were among the more stupid things I’ve done:
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I grew up among the lakes and trees of northern Wisconsin. On some summer nights, we would go on “missions”: literally running around lakeshores, dodging trees, chasing animal sounds, etc. It’s a wonder none of us suffered serious injury.
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Jumping off of bridges into lakes
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On one occasion, we snuck onto someone else’s floating raft. It was built up to include a low diving board and a higher one, as well as a small waterslide. We thought we were being quiet, but apparently we were loud enough for the owner to hear us. He came to the lake’s edge and challenged us. Paraphrasing, “Who goes there?!” Oh, crap. After maybe 10 seconds, one of us spoke up, mentioned the identity of his father, and luckily the guy knew his dad. He told us to ask if we wanted to use the diving raft again. We couldn’t get out of that lake quickly enough.
As an adult, most of the stupid things I have done have been tied to alcohol consumption. By the grace of God, I still breathe. hehe
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Medical boy told us some of things he has seen in the ER must have come after someone said something to the effect of, “Here, hold my beer.” 
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Ever since this thread started I have been trying to think of risky things I (or my family for that matter) have done. We are risk adverse and the opposite of thrill seekers.
When the tower of terror opened at Disney as the twilight zone ride. My husband who hates thrill rides and loves the twilight zone was able to go through the before ride (all the twilight zone themed stuff) and then they let him off before the actual ride.
So far, all I have come up with is that I rode the cyclone in coney island and I have ridden on the back of a motorcycle (in the streets not on a highway and he was a very careful driver.)
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